Florida Grower: Celebrating 100 Years Of Service
December 1, 2007 This is more than a celebration for the 100th birthday of Florida Grower. It is a celebration also of Florida agriculture from primitive beginnings 100 years ago to one of the most technologically advanced and most environmentally protective in the U.S., if not the world.
We celebrate success to a degree not dreamed of 100 years ago and look to the future with confidence and optimism, although it is popular thinking now to believe that Florida agriculture is at the crossroads. Periods of pessimism are not unusual for an industry accustomed to violent weather and pest attacks and, in addition, a favorite target of big-city radical environmentalists. But one thing Florida agriculture has shown over the years is resilience, and time after time, it has found answers where none ever seemed possible.
Florida’s pioneering growers are a breed apart — building new markets where none existed before, developing improved machinery and cultural practices usurping the old ways, and with an ability to fight back. Combine those traits with the skill to work together to achieve market power and political power, and Florida leads the way in feeding a world hungry for health-promoting fruits and vegetables, while preserving the land and environment for future generations.
Indeed, the future of the state of Florida may depend on the continued success of its agricultural sector. If citrus groves and fields of vegetables give way to urban development and a paved-over, high-tax urban desert, Florida will have lost the great attraction of its coastline and natural beauty it has enjoyed the past century. Even now, lawmakers are being asked to set up improved legislation to help farmers stay in business and preserve open areas. The 1,000 Friends of Florida group is calling on the people of the state to be prepared to find ways to keep open land in agriculture.
Much of Florida’s agricultural success has been due to the monumental achievements of its research, teaching, and Extension arm — Florida’s Land Grant College, the University of Florida, and its Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. What research has developed and Extension has promoted, the supply sector has made possible by manufacturing, formulating, and growing the new seeds, the exotic crop protection products, and the tractors, sprayers, and applicators that make it all possible. It has been a marvelous record of cooperation and synergism.
Who would have dreamed that orange trees would be grown in hedge rows, or that fresh orange juice would be supplied world wide, or that high-quality watermelons could be grown routinely, or that pest management would largely shift to integrated management and biological control, or that tomatoes would be grown on plastic-covered raised beds with water-saving drip irrigation, or that tractors would be guided by GPS?
Who would have believed that in the future are genetically engineered cultivars with disease and insect resistance never thought possible, and with nitrogen use efficiency to substantially cut fertilizer costs and improve environmental performance? Or that the age-old problem of hand harvesting would be overcome with new varieties and machines, or that production systems will be developed that operate through wireless field sensors for 100% automation? The lessons of the past 100 years must teach that the status quo is only a blip in the path of progress.
For 100 years, Florida Grower has chronicled the history that shapes the industry, and has tried to bring perspective and meaning to its readers. The editors have been advisers to growers, researchers, and suppliers — always striving to provide the best, most accurate, information. It is an honor and a labor of love to produce this 100th anniversary issue. For one magazine to survive and prosper for 100 years is a remarkable record, and the editors hope this issue gives some understanding of the forces which propelled us to where we are today, and will move us forward tomorrow.
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